(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD100 and Canon PowerShot SD800is.

The first two introductory paragraphs are the same in all articles in my Dim Sum Series. Feel free to skip down to the first picture if you've already read them.

Edit 08/24/2013: This restaurant has closed.)

Dim sum restaurants are a hotly contested topic amongst Orange County foodies. Every person has their favorite, and defends it with an almost rabid intensity on the message boards. Read any thread and you'll find that Seafood World, Seafood Paradise, and Dragon Phoenix Palace in Little Saigon will have invariably emerged as top contenders. It's a certainty that someone will mention China Garden in Irvine as an acceptable alternative, and bash other restaurants like Furiwa. If it's a slow day on the Net, you might even see armed encampments form, arguing vociferously as to whether or not Dragon Phoenix has fallen from grace and been surpassed by Seafood World, or if new dim sum restaurant X holds a candle to any of the perennial favorites. The answer is invariably "no".

The most passionate flamers are locals who grew up eating at a particular restaurant, delivering their judgments about all of the others as if their opinions carry the weight of the ages, and launching verbal tirades against those of different dim sum faiths. It's difficult, then, for a dim sum newcomer in Orange County to gauge the veracity of any of the statements and decide which dim sum restaurant to visit. This is why I chose to start my Dim Sum Series. As a relatively recent arrival to Orange County, I'm impartial when it comes to local dim sum restaurants. I don't have any favorites. I just want to give my readers enough information to make an informed decision when choosing a dim sum dining location. Take everything I say with a dab of chili oil. I'm just a guy who likes food. Ultimately, the best way to decide if a restaurant is worth eating at is to try it yourself.

Once the reigning king of Orange County dim sum restaurants, Dragon Phoenix Palace in Little Saigon has suffered from online detractors in recent years. Comments about it on restaurant review forums are far from glowing, with particularly venomous jabs being delivered by longtime regulars. The food, like so many other things, just isn't as good as they remember from their childhood. Determined to get to the truth of the matter, Alphanarf (my Cantonese dim sum buddy), Cat, and I made several review visits to Dragon Phoenix Palace over the course of a year.

Our first visit was part of an OC Food Blogs meet up organized by Wandering Chopsticks. The sparsely populated dining area during what should have been the weekend dim sum rush showed a restaurant in decline. However, the food seemed decent and the selection was more varied than what was offered by its competitors.

(Shrimp & Green Onion Dumplings)

The second time Alphanarf, Cat, and I visited Dragon Phoenix Palace, several months later, the food quality was shockingly bad. The wrappers for our steamed items were swollen and pasty, yet the inner fillings were undercooked. It was obvious that many of the dishes had spent too much time in the steam carts before being served to us. In one notable instance, the dumplings were so waterlogged that my chopsticks passed right through them when I tried to pick them up.

(Shrimp & Chive Dumplings)

The final visit occurred at the beginning of this year. I wanted to give Dragon Phoenix Palace the opportunity to redeem itself. However, our prior experience had been so disappointing that it took me months to talk Alphanarf and Cat into giving it one more go. While the food wasn't as bad as it had been the last time, the pasty wrapper problem persisted. We departed the restaurant without any intention of returning.

(Shrimp Dumplings)

It seems its detractors were correct. Whatever its former glories, the dim sum at Dragon Phoenix Palace is now mediocre at best. The food is passable, but it's certainly not worth braving the weekend traffic in Little Saigon and the horrific parking situation.

If you do find yourself at Dragon Phoenix Palace, there are a number of reasonably bulletproof dishes that you can order. The Shao Mai (Meatball Dumplings) are usually pretty good. Since they don't rely on their wrappers for structural integrity, they're much better at withstanding over-steaming.

The thickness of the Cha Shao Bao (BBQ Pork Buns) make them harder to over-steam. While the bread portions end up a bit gluey, the pork ratio is good and flavoring is strong. This is usually a favorite with kids.

Similarly, the steamed glutinous rice dishes also come off pretty well. Their size and the fact they tend to be encased by leaves or plastic wrap lend them extra protection. This one was filled with minced BBQ pork, and was quite good.

The He Fen (Filled Rice Noodle Sheets) are always winners. They're not kept warm in steam carts after being prepared in the kitchen, which means they're usually not over-steamed. The rice noodle sheets are gently resilient, and the shrimp or beef fillings add a nice accent.

(Potstickers.)

However, and it's rare that I make this sort of recommendation about a dim sum place, I'd advise most diners to stick with the fried items and avoid the steamed ones. Fried items in dim sum are often day old leftovers crisped in a pan before serving. Although, this treatment can actually make over-steamed wrappers more palatable, it does little to improve the uninspired seasoning.

A fried item that tends to be OK is the Luo Buo Gao (Turnip Cake), fried in an egg coating. I found this to be sort of blah. The egg coating didn't develop the same sort of crispy texture you get from just frying the turnip cake plain. It was also pretty bland. But, with a little soy sauce and chili oil, it was passable.

The Special Tofu, on the other hand, is awesome. Tofu cubes are battered in rice flour paste, deep fried, and them stir fried with green onions and some sort of sweet, garlicky sauce. They're addicting.

The Hao You Jie Lan (Steamed Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce) is also quite tasty. The Chinese broccoli is fresh and crunchy, and most vegetables are great with a little oyster sauce drizzled over the top. It's a good way to cut the grease from the fried items.

Occasionally, waiters will circulate through the dining area with trays of piping hot "specials". It's sometimes worth taking a chance on these offers. I really enjoyed these Deep Fried Gravid Prawns, which I ate whole. The shells had been fried so that they broke apart in my mouth like chitonous potato chips. While each prawn was packed full of delicious eggs, it was the MSG and salt mix that they'd been coated in that made the prawns extra good.

(Baked BBQ Pork Buns0

Dragon Phoenix Palace - When you go to a dim sum restaurant, you don't want to have to guess at which items will taste all right. You want mediocrity to be the exception, not the rule. You want a pleasant, fun, and delicious meal with family and friends. Sadly, Dragon Phoenix Palace no longer seems able to deliver that experience. I hope it manages to rise again someday.

When you think of Asians, do you think of coffee? Probably not. The regions that come to mind are most likely Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Even the United States has a place on the coffee map as the home of Starbucks, the largest corporate coffee chain in the world. Yet, Taiwan has developed its own take on coffee and cafes that is every bit as refined.

Until Cat and I stumbled across La Cuisson in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, I had no idea that Taiwanese coffee cafes had arrived in North America. Although the Taiwanese Bubble Tea craze successfully swept the continent in the late 1990's, the United States had cafe traditions of its own too firmly entrenched at that point to make Taiwanese cafes viable. Who could compete with Starbucks, Peet's, Dietrich's, and Seattle's Best (all now owned by Starbucks)?

(Trying to blend in.)

Since Cat had never been to a Taiwanese cafe, we decided to have a light dinner. In addition to freshly brewed coffee, La Cuisson also offers other hot beverages, cookies, panini, and desserts. Like bubble tea shops, they have a startling number of snack and dining options.

For her beverage, Cat decided on a rich cup of Hot Chocolate to ward off the chill Canadian night. Made with frothed milk, it was artfully presented with a chocolate treble clef.

She also ordered a Maple Waffle as a salute to Canada, and since she likes waffles. Her confection was crisp and airy, and the maple syrup that accompanied it was unsurprisingly top notch.

(Decisions decisions.)

A self-admitted coffee snob, I was there for coffee and coffee I would have. In addition to a good selection of quality beans, what I really liked about La Cuisson's menu was the detailed Chinese and English descriptions explaining the origin and flavor profile of each coffee offered. I also liked how each individual order was ground and prepared using the method that best suited it. The attention to detail showed me how serious La Cuisson is about providing quality coffee.

The Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee caught my eye for both its $15 CAD price tag and eloquently worded description. According to the menu (typos and all):

"The original Blue Mountain coffee bean is origin from Wallenford Estate, Jamaica. Since it is rarely produced, its price tends to be higher than most other coffee beans, and this is why many coffee shops do not offer this extraordinary coffee bean. Blue Mountain Blend in our store is mixed according to the characteristics from the original Blue Mountain coffee bean: the body of sweetness and aroma with a hint of bright acidity. This blend is great for coffee-lovers to experience and enjoy."

It was, simply put, the best cup of coffee I'd ever had. Would I have it again? Maybe on special occasions or to celebrate something. $15 CAD is a very steep price. I'm fairly sure nothing on the Starbucks menu even comes close in either quality or price.

To compliment the coffee, I had a Crème Caramel, a decadent pillow of custard shrouded in warm caramel sauce. It had just the right amount of sweetness to offset the mellow sharpness of my Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee.

Ton-Ton decided to have Cookies, which he generously shared with us. $2.95 CAD got him a plate of six biscuits. There were delicate maple pecan shortbread cookies that melted away in the mouth, chewy pecan tartlets redolent with the aroma of caramel, and sugar cookies perfect in their simplicity. It, like La Cuisson, was meant to be experienced with friends.

La Cuisson - A great place for coffee and dessert, or for a light dinner. I hope something similar opens up down here in Southern California.

4/06/2008

After I posted my recipe for Japanese Cha Shu, I received a number of emails asking me for a recipe for Chinese Cha Shao (BBQ Pork). Normally found hanging in the windows of Chinese delicatessens, cha shao (char siu in Cantonese) is a marinated, slightly sweet, slow roasted pork with a deep crimson color and radiant finish. Non-Chinese readers may be familiar with it from dim sum as the tasty filling in Chinese steamed pork buns, and it is also commonly used as a fried rice ingredient in many Chinese restaurants.

Fuel, such as wood, is not particularly prolific in China. Most of the country consists of arid steppes, dry plains, and desert, which is why the most commonly used Chinese cooking techniques involve quickly cooking ingredients over high heat. Because of this, the average family in China did not, and still does not, count an oven amongst its household kitchen appliances. Instead, all roasting of meat was left to specialty delicatessens and purchased as needed. The use of so much precious wood was justified by the amount of meat being processed, which also cut down on the production cost per unit.

The reason so few recipes exist for creating delicatessen-quality cha shao is that it was a product never intended to be produced in the home kitchen. Even Chinese restaurants usually purchase the cha shao they use. A bit of Googling online turned up recipes with potential here and here. After fine tuning the product for months, and doing research into the history and professional production techniques for creating Chinese BBQ Pork, I created this method for making cha shao.

I used a slow-smoking technique with wood chips to get the smoky finish that the traditional recipe gets from a wood-fired oven. To make the recipe accessible to everyone, I designed it around the classic Weber charcoal kettle grill, which has been standard in most American households since the 1950s. Using an outdoor BBQ grill also neatly avoids the most common problem in making cha shao in a home oven; setting off the smoke alarms. Please try my recipe for Chinese BBQ Pork. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Combine all of the ingredients except the pork and salt in the saucepan.

Incorporate the ingredients by stirring over low or medium-low heat. The mixture should never get hot enough to bubble.

Once the marinade is uniformly mixed and all the sugar has been dissolved, remove from heat.

Let cool to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator if not using immediately.

Prep work (Chinese BBQ Pork):

Trim the surface of the pork shoulder of as much visible fat as possible. This is a matter of personal preference. If you prefer a richer end product, leave some of the surface fat on. It will be impossible to remove all the fat, given the anatomy of that cut of meat.

Cut the meat into 6-inch by 3-inch slabs roughly 1-inch thick. The meat should be cut with the grain so that you end up with long continuous pieces of muscle. This way, when you slice the finished product, you will be cutting against the grain, making for a more tender morsel.

Thoroughly rinse the meat and pat dry.

Rub a small amount of sea salt into the surface of each piece of meat. The salt will both season the meat and help kill any surface bacteria the rinsing didn't remove.

Place the meat in your plastic bins or bags. There should be at least an inch of space at the top of each bin or bag.

Evenly divide your cooled marinade between the bins or bags.

Toss the meat in the marinade until each piece is coated.

Gently press the meat into the container to remove as many pockets of air as possible.

Seal your containers and place in the coolest part of the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. I prefer 48-72 hours. The longer the meat marinates, the more intensely flavored it will be. However, letting it marinate for too long may result in the loss of too much moisture, which means you may end up with a dry product. Do not leave it in the marinade for over three days.

The night before you're going to smoke the meat, cover three large handfuls of wood chips with water and leave to soak until ready to use.

Instructions (Chinese BBQ Pork):

Thoroughly clean your grill. Make sure the bottom vents in the kettle are wide open.

Prepare a batch of charcoal by following the directions for your chimney starter.

Once the charcoal is white and glowing, carefully pour it into the BBQ's kettle unit. Push the coals together in to a small pile against one side of the grill. Do not use your hands. Drain roughly 1/4 cup of wood chips and sprinkle onto the coals. The wood chips should begin smoking immediately.

Set the grill plate in place. Shake excess marinade off of each piece of meat before placing it on the grill. The meat should be on the side of the grill not directly over the coals. Reserve the leftover marinade.

Place the lid of the grill with the vents over the meat, opposite the charcoal. Set the lid vent about 1/2-3/4 of the way closed. This will force the smoke to circle within the BBQ as it looks for a way out. Monitor the smoke carefully during the cooking process. You may need to add more wood chips periodically.

The first smoking phase will take two hours. After the first hour, begin preparing another batch of coals in the chimney lighter. As with the wood chips, the charcoal in the BBQ may also need to be refreshed occasionally.

After the first two hours have passed, flip the meat. Swap the pieces closest to the coals with the pieces further away. You may need to add more charcoal and wood chips. Smoke for another two hours.

Repeat the smoking process until all the meat has been cooked. As each batch of cha shao is finished, place it in your baking dish or sheet pan and loosely cover with foil. Let rest for at least half and hour before slicing.

Once the last batch of cha shao has been placed on the grill, it's time to make the sauce. Pour all of the reserved marinade into your saucepan, along with one cup of water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and reduce by half, stirring occasionally. Near the end, the sauce will become syrupy. At this stage, more frequent stirring is needed to prevent burning. Once the sauce has reduced by half and become glossy, remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. It can be kept in the refrigerator for several months and goes great with the cha shao. It's delicious when used as a seasoning for stir-fried vegetables or noodles.

My favorite way of enjoying this flavorful cha shao is simply sliced at room temperature. I also love it diced and served over of hot bowl of steamed rice with minced scallions, grated ginger, and a light drizzle of sauce.

You can read about another of our trips to Garry Point here. There are some great shots of the sunset.)

As it's already 2008, I decided I should try to finish off the rest of Ton-Ton's Journey: Vancouver 2007. There are four more articles after this. Given the current weakness of the US dollar, I'm not sure when Ton-Ton's next trip to Canada will be, although I'm fairly certain it will be sometime this year.

(Cue Jaws music.)

While there are a few locations in Richmond's scenic Steveston Fishing Village where you can find good fish and chips, family-run Pajo's Fish & Chips has been the shop of choice for Cat's family since King's Fare in Vancouver mysteriously closed. A trip to Vancouver just isn't complete for her without a visit to Pajo's summer stand in Garry Point

Started in 1985, Pajo's boasts two locations in Steveston and two others in the Lower Mainland. While the location on the Steveston Wharf is larger and actually on the water, we prefer the one in Garry Point for its scenic splendor. Since the weather is very much a factor in that part of the world, the Garry Point Pajo's is usually only open during the relatively sunny summer and autumn months.

(Ton-Ton takes in the view.)

Part of the fun is sitting at one of the heavy wooden picnic benches that have holes already cut into the tabletops to help hold your hefty cones of deep-fried loveliness. The ocean is just a few yards away. The wind coming down the coast can be quite chilly, but the fresh salt air really helps to stimulate the appetite.

Of course, there are a few drawbacks. Obstreperous volunteer dining companions like this one are cute and annoying. Their leftover-scavenging skills have been honed by generations of picnicking visitors, and their honking squawks can be difficult to ignore.

Pajo's dishes up its fried filets of crispy goodness in heart-cloggingly large portions. Customers have their choice of traditional cod, ubiquitous salmon, or extravagant halibut. For indecisive people like me, they thankfully offer a One of Each special. All of their fish are perfectly fried. The batter is light and airy, and the fish is moist and tender. The stand offers an array of condiments and seasoned salts so customers can spice up their orders any which way they choose. If you've never had salmon in fish and chips and are considering it, I'd also suggest getting the One of Each. Deep-fried salmon can take some getting used to.

Poutine, a disturbing French-Canadian concoction of French fries, beef gravy, and cheese curds, is another dish I'm fond of getting. Think of them as Quebecois nachos. Although the Pajo's version is strictly barebones, it's enough to satisfy my cravings. For the really good stuff, you need to go to Quebec.

Ever mindful of our disapproving mothers, Cat always orders the Mushy Peas, which are reminiscent of split pea soup. Made with dried peas, this thick and hearty dish somehow manages to sooth stomachs upset by too much grease and starch. If you're wondering how there could ever be too much grease and starch, you've never eaten at Pajo's.

Leftovers are never something to be worried about. While the human stomach wasn't designed to hold that much food, the feathery locals are more than happy to help you tidy up. They'll even put on an airshow, catching fries in midair.

(Enough to make a panda smile.)

Pajo's Fish & Chips in Garry Point - It's a little pricey, even by Canadian standards. But, the quality and the portion sizes make it well worth the money. Just the thing for a sunny day on the beach.